>> thank you for having it. the show may be over but the conversation continues you can find us on twitter @ajconsiderthis. we'll see you next time. >> good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. historic vote in the south. volkswagen workers decide whether or not to go join. we'll have the results. touring california's devastated drought lands. we'll have a live report on president obama's west coast trip. encore. his $5 million violin was stolen in a brutal armed rob i.

now the musician is back with his 500-year-old descrad anniversary yus. he -- stradivarius. he joins us tonight. lego art. what incredible art one man is creating from these little plastic boxes. >> a lot to get to tonight. breaking news out of tennessee. the historic vote whether or not to unions the volkswagen plant in chattanooga. jonathan what can you tell us? >> john i can tell you the uaw is disappointed and pretty surprised. all week we talked with uaw officials, we have a solid number of workers who want a

union at the plant. obviously at the plant the totals don't reflect that. 53% of the workers voted against union representation. the uaw has lost influence, sheer numbers. they were hoping to finally finally get a foothold at a foreign auto maker in the south after so many years of being unsuccessful. they seemingly had a good shot at doing it. they had an unlikely ally, which was volkswagen. volkswagen was allowing them to come into the plant, talk to the workers, and volkswagen wasn't opposing this. the feeling is that if the uaw could not win with that support and the backing of volkswagen it will be unlikely that they will be able to do that at least any time soon elsewhere. >> do we have an idea why the workers decided against a union? >> you know we just don't know for sure. you know a lot of them had

concerns, just you know what would happen. of course the goal from the uaw was to set up this german style work council where they would have you know a say in things that are going on inside the plant. but you know, also there was a lot of outside influence and so it's not clear how much of that influence influenced the workers, we know the uaw tweeted not too long ago john that they were outraged by so many outside groups coming in and getting involved. we know that senator bob corker and tennessee's governor realized that unionsing could hurt the economy, and president obama even weighed in the other day accusing some of the politicians being more concerned about the german stakeholders than some of the u.s. workers. there was a lot of outside talk,

some billboards put up across chattanooga. it was a politically charged debate and vote that we just saw. >> all right, jonathan martin in tennessee. we'll have more in the coming days, thank you. now the top stories. president obama's trip to california. air force 1 landed in palm springs, california where the president will talk to king abdalla of jordan. mike viqueria joins us with more. mike. >> it's the syrian crisis that's the top of the agenda, no question about it. briefed reportersrd into air force 1. 660,000 refugees living in jordan, they are living among the jordannian economy. costing about $900 million a year. obviously reached a crisis

point. that is on the front burner as these two men meet in the palm springs area, the sunny lands resort actually, john. they will be having a dinner to hash out these results, any time an american president gets together with a jordannian king, the foreign affairs are the top of the agenda. many, many times in the course of his tenure at the state department, john kerry trying to work out something, even as criticism that he's taking his eye off of syria and afghanistan. the president going to be sitting down with the king, talking about the amount of u.s. aid to help with the humanitarian crisis, the united states is already giving jordan l some $660 million in aid each year. >> mike, the president also stopped in fresno, california to talk about the drought.

what's he planning to do to help the people of california? >> it's fascinating john, not only the consequences this drought is having on the central valley, the san joaquin valley there, water resource is always a touchy issue there. if you look at some of the maps, the satellite photos, the drought perhaps portraying that area, depicting that area in central california, you can see the snow pack in the mountains there, extremely light to what it normally is. obviously the farmers depend on that runoff depending o dependig off of the mountains in the spring. he remind he everybody just what's at stake when we're talking about the central valley and the san joaquin valley of california. >> california's our biggest economy. california's our biggest

agricultural producer. so what happens here matters to every working american. right down to the cost of food that you put open your table. >> reporter: the president tying it in john to climate change. he's going to be announcing a $1 billion, they're calling it a climate resistance fund to help the farmers in that area and elsewhere in the country deal with the effects of climate change. that's going to be in his budget in just a couple of weeks, john. >> mike viqueria thank you. it's been raining in california but not nearly enough to help desperate farmers helping with the drought. not the ones that are struggling. melissa chan reports. >> diane friend, the worst drought in her memory. >> it grabs you from down deep. you're making me cry. when you see the soil and you

touch it and you know it may not be here for your next generation of family. that's -- that's big. >> she says she had hoped to plant pistachio trees this season but without water she will postpone those plans. >> this was an orchard that was abandoned. >> friend is also director of her county farm bureau and has spent many afternoons assessing the effect of the drought. >> and it will be dry like this -- >> all year. >> -- all year. >> she takes us to stoneland farms. they have left the land fallow because they don't have enough water. >> when we don't spend the money on the crop because we don't have enough water to grow it, everybody down the line is affected. >> taking on half the workers they normally take on this time of year. fewer migrant workers and in an already depressed region. >> don't have water, don't have

jobs. the water is so important to keep it up, the people that work in the fields working because there's no water, no jobs. >> to properly understand the drought's impact it's important to know that the central valley has had very dry conditions for a few years now. the drought has turned an already bad situation worse. we met dan short when he unloaded food at a distribution center. his organization expects to give away another 10,000 pounds of food this year. california, the bread basket of the world, the unable to feed itself. >> i'm feeding the people who actually grow the food, you know fm. >> according to the california food coalition, some farmers will go bankrupt. i heard the other day a farmer said to me, what will i do? what will i become? >> the people here tell us farming is not a job. it doesn't end at 5:00.

it's not even a small business that folds. it's a lifestyle and culture and if it dispears you're left with nothing. melissa chan, al jazeera in san joaquin county, california. >> the drought, talking about it is one thing, seeing it is entirely different. kevin core corriveau is here. >> john, folsom lake 20 miles to the northeast of sacramento. take a look at these before and after pictures. this is a reservoir and you ask see some of the boats here, this is a couple of years ago what it used to look like. and now, 77 feet below what there were, all the boats still pretty much at the bottom of the reservoir. here is another picture of a marina, and the climate prediction center puts out these three month forecast for temperature as well as precipitation. unfortunately this is what

they're saying for the next three months. this dark brown area indicating about 40% below average of rain. the little brown area above it says 30, of course. we have been having a lot of rain up here towards the north so we think that part of the drought situation is going to start to have a fairly big dent taken out of it but unfortunately from anywhere from san francisco down to the south it's still going to be a major problem here. and as you saw there is no rain in the forecast. conditions out here are dry. we're looking at temperatures into the low 70s. back to you john. >> kevin thank you. the obama administration gave a green light to banks allowing them to do business with the legal marijuana industry. paul beban has that story. >> good evening. i'm in the lobby of lodo wellness, a retail marijuana shop in downtown denver. you can see the grow shop. a bureau of the treasury department called the financial

crimes enforcement project very eagerly received by the industry. they are really hoping that shops like this can start doing business with banks. let's see what an industry rep had to say to me. >> it's a huge development for the industry. up to this point, these businesses had been forced to operate in an almost cash-only environment. paying their taxes, their licensing and utility bills, paying their employees, all of these things had to be done in stacks of cash in the past. >> a very different response from the banks. once the banks had a chance to look at the these guidelines we had a chance to speak to the head of the colorado bankers association and they are saying not so fast. >> we started at the five-yard line, with 95 yards to go. at the end we are still at the five-yard line. we have gone only a little

distance where the banks need to go for the banks to provide the service. >> the banks are trying to hear from the banking service and the fdic. a lot of frustration from retail shop owners. don, what is your reaction to this news? >> cautiously opposite miscellaneous. the banking use for this industry is a big problem. we have to pay with cash, taxes with cash, and appropriate security for our staff and family members. we'd like to see banking so we can write checks, and do business like other businesses can do. there's private funding out there and there's venture capitalists out there. we need a checking account and a savings account.

>> don, thank you very much. the bankers are going to hold off until they get clear guidance. cautiously optimistic but a long way to go. >> paul beban reporting. if every can of sugar would have a warning label on it would it stop you from buying soda? that question would it change your behavior or not? some california lawmakers say, some people need to know the facts. richelle carey is here. richelle. a warning on soda and juice bottles that have added sweetener and more than 75 calories per 12-ounce serving. the first of its kind in the nation. the labels would warn, drinking beverages with added sugar contributes to obesity diebts and tootdiabetesand tooth decay.

cal bev, a group of drink makers that include coca-cola, pepsi and dr. pepper. public health advocates in california say statistics show drinking one soda a day could increase obesity in adults by 25% and in children by 55%. it's no surprise minority health advocates are backing the bill. this is not the first attempt to limit sugary drinks, if you're thinking this sounds a little familiar, former new york city mayor michael bloomberg wanted to ban the sale of large sugar-filled being beverages at public stadiums. that was overturned.

we'll have to see how far this actually gets. >> joining us is harold goldstein, the executive director of the california center for milk advocacy. the group is a co-sponsor of this legislation. harold, welcome. >> thank you john. >> why do you think this bill is important? >> there is now overwhelming scientific evidence that soda and other sugary drinks oar central and unique contributor to the obesity epidemic to preventible diabetes and to tooth decay. one 20-ounce soda has 16 teaspoons of sugar. imagine eating 16 teaspoons of sugar, drink a 20 ounce soda a week and this is how much sugar you are consuming. it turns out this is the leading source of sugar in the american diet. and the leading contributor to the obesity epidemic. >> shouldn't people take their

own responsibility though and make those decisions on their own? >> john, that is exactly what this piece of legislation is all about. it's about giving consumers the information that they need, and they get to make every decision for themselves. absolutely. that's the american way. that's what freedom is all about. >> i mean high salt content can raise blood pressure. i mean, how far do you go with this is my question. do we warn on every -- on every food item that's in the store? >> no, absolutely not. i think what we do is when the scientific evidence reaches a threshold that's when we need to warn consumers. i think most people don't know the uniquely harmful effects of liquid sugar, gold standard of research shows that if you drink two sodas a day for just two weeks, your cholesterol and triglyceride levels go up 20%.

drink those same two sodas a day for six months and the amount of fat in your liver more than doubles and it's that fatty liver disease that leads directly to preventible diabetes. >> don't candy bars have the same impact? >> most people don't know yet that liquid sugar is uniquely responsible. we human beings were designed to drink two liquids, mother's milk and water. when we drink that liquid sugar it's absorbed into the bloodstream in 30 minutes. that spike overwhelms the pan pancreas. that's what causes preventible diabetes. >> in new york when mayor bloomberg took the action he did with sugary drinks, there were plenty of people who laughed at

him, this is ridiculous, you are butting your laws into the lives of new yorkers. do you expect to hear the same thing in your neck of the woods? >> no actually i think we're going to hear something completely different. in new york, what they're doing is banning certain products. sb 1000 in california is entirely about education. even the beverage industry said, the epidemic of obesity is about information. >> what does the warning say? >> the warning says exactly what you said in your setup piece, drinking these sugary drinks contributes directly to obesity preventible diabetes and tooth decay. that old elementary school experiment, you drop a tooth into a glass of soda, a couple of days it melts away, it does the same thing for the teeth in your mouth.

>> how big would that warning need to be? >> sort of like what's on tobacco. when you put warning labels on tobacco people read it, they get to make the choice for themselves. again, that's what freedom is all about. provide people the information. they then get to make the choice. >> harold goldstein out in sacramento. harold we'll be watching this with you. thanks very much. >> thanks for having me, john. >> nature's inferno. indonesia reeling from another volcano. we asked our science and technology correspondent jake ward to investigate.

>> breaking news tonight, this just in. a minor earthquake at south carolina. shaking homes in south carolina and georgia. and the u.s. geological survey says it had a preliminary magnitude of 4.4, centered a few

miles from edgefield, south carolina, people feeling it in both states. a volcano, forcing more than 100,000 people to leave their home. step vassoon reports. >> they scrambled to get out. many panicked. >> we are going to refugee camp. we need to be evacuated. >> reporter: just one and a half hours after authorities raised the alert level mountain galut erupted. material was thrown as far as 17 kilometers away. people living within 10 kilometers were told to leave their homes, some could not get out in time, and went to hospital after they were hit with volcanic debris.

three international airports were closed immediately causing huge disruptions for millions of travelers. mt. galut has a deadly past, it erupted in 1990, killing 33 people and back in 1999, more than 5,000 people were killed. no deaths in 2007 because authorities ordered a successful evacuation. another eruption, another volcano. indonesia is taking the brunt again. now the lives of hundreds of thousands are affected again. step fasson al jazeera, jakarta. >> chronic homelessness among veterans, arizona cps stand-down event event.

akiko fujita has more. >> this is the largest stand-down event in the country. we are expecting 1500 veterans at home or at risk to come through the doors here, by the end of the three days of this event you take a look at this line here, that gives you the sense of how big the line is, that's for meals. but this is really a one stop shop where veterans can come in here get all the services they need. they've got showers, beds where they can rest comfortably, they can talk to experts about social security benefits, medical benefits. it's an annual event but it's getting so much attention this year because this has become the first city in the country to end chronic homelessness among veterans. all groups have worked as partners to get every one of the 222 chronically homeless veterans off the street.

and they've done that through a unique approach. they call housing first. that means getting the veterans in permanent homes first before they're treated for mental illness or substance abuse. and a lot of other cities have started to look to this model. salt lake city, philadelphia, because threaf see they've seens of the city. organizers tell me as of today they have all 222 of those chronically homeless veterans placed in permanent housing. >> that's akiko fujita reporting from phoenix tonight. tech giant google taking on a project larger than life. chosen a subsi subsidiary of moffett field, they also get a small building as part of the

deal. i'm sorry, wait a minute, did i say small building? i meant one of the largest free standing structures in the world. hangar 1 as it's known was built in the 1930s to house blimples. it is 1300 feed long by 300 feet long by 200 feet tall. it's so enormous that on a stormy day you could close the doors and keep eight full acres of landing dry. it has its own weather system. the ceiling has been known to collect fog on the right day. what does one do with a 350,000 square foot playground? you could have a football game or you know, six of them simultaneously. you could invite the entire town of baton rouge to dinner. google like any country likes to

do -- like any company likes to do everything in secret. out of the prying eyes and cameras of the outside world. mary ann talks about her unlikely run for congress. plus, piece by piece, we're meeting a man who is turning legos into works of art.

>> and welcome back to al jazeera merrick. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. we have a lot to cover this night. richie incognito. accused of sexual and racial taunting of their own teammates. a stolen multimillion dollar

stradivarius is recovered. and the art of the brick. as lego movies top the box office, we'll show you the amazing sculptures of nathan soweya. richelle carey has the headlines. >> breaking news, a break through vote against the union in tennessee was 712 to 626. president obama traveled to california, spent the first part of his visit meeting with farmers to discuss the severe drought. the white house announced a program, including $100 million for livestock disaster assistance. president obama is also speaking with the king of jordan, about peace in the middle east. the obama administration is allowing banks to do business with legal marijuana sellers. regulations have been announced

today, banks have refused to do business with dealers because much fear of prosecution. those are some of your headlines john. >> thank you very much richelle. the mechanism mid term elections will include one of the most closely watched and colorful campaign. replacing a veteran on capitol hill. henry waxman, there are plenty of people eager to follow in his footsteps. one of them joins us, mary ann williamson, it's good to see you. >> good to see you too. thank you for having me. >> why did you decide to do this? i think our country's in crisis. there is a particular work you have to do in order for crisis to become opportunity. i think you have to treat more than symptoms you have to treat

disease. you can't just treat the effects you have to treat the cause. what i mean by that until we deal with the underlying issue, the underlying cancer which is the unbelievably undue influences of moneyed forces, until we get money out of politics we are going to be fighting and trying to manage the effects of serious breakdown in our society. i wanted to run on that platform and have that conversation with the american people, just the same old same old status quo political discussion is inadequate if we are going to face the challenges of our time. >> how are you going to finance your campaign? >> it's a grass roots campaign. i'm not taking pac money or lobbyist money. the people of the united states know if we are to have a real pattern interruption at this time it's going to be because of a real people's movement. this idea of multinational corporations kind of running things almost like we've reverted to a an aristocratic

situation. duopoly, rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic. >> what are the tenets of your campaign? >> certainly, equality. the advanced nations of the world we are second only to romania in our child poverty rate, corrupting influences in our food supply, gmos. we have 2.4 million people who are incarcerated in the united states. children can't go to preschool, too many people do not or the matter of american young people coming out of college with an average of $30,000 of debt. we've become a government of a few of the people by a few of the people for a few of the

people. and once people wake up to this people aren't comfortable with making a mockery of the gettiesbursburg address. i have worked for 30 years rather up close and personal with people in crisis and i know you can't just as i said before fix things on the outside. you have to have a deep inquiries into who you are. what any individual needs to transform their lives. ask who we are really. do we stand on the principles we say we stand on, where do we have our own character defects to atone for, to make amends for and to change course. we are narrowing the democratic franchise for almost everybody. there is like a citizens lockout in this country. my qualification as much as

anything else is i name it as i see it. and asking these questions, a humanitarian principle to do what i can to magnify the voices in congress to get a constitutional amend to outlining -- >> congressman waxman do you think he did a good job over the 40 years in office? >> in many ways he did. in many ways he did and i think it's wonderful for our district that many can celebrate him. he voted for the national defense thorg authorization acth gives our nation authority to detain citizens. to enact the situation where the president -- the congress has washed its hands of its constitutional authority to declare war. tax cuts for billionaires and so forth. there are some definite

differences but celebrate the extraordinary particularly the extraordinary environmental legacy of congressman waxman. i'm one of the choir to celebrate his legacy and wishing him a wonderful lars part of his life. >> mary ann williamson thank you for being on the program. >> thank you. thank you. >> shocking news, a normer star nfl player is facing multiple rape charges. jessica taff. >> we're learning nfl safety darren sharper is out on bail, charges of raping and drugging two woman in california. the alleged drugging and raping of five other women. in each case sharper met the women at a club or a party, gave them a shot of alcohol laced with a drug, each passing out, one alleged victim actually woke

up in the act, she had sharper's dna. he retired in 2010 after 13 years in the nfl and could face 30 years in prison. the bullying scandal that rocked the miami do dolphins. jonathan martin was not the only target. another player and assistant coach were excessively harassed and john jerry and mike pouncey followed incognito's lead in bug ying. i got the sun sentinel's perspective on this 144 page document. >> you know to me the two take aways were that the report found jonathan martin was harassed and he was harassed by three

players, richie incog nea incogd unnamed player a who was described as a young offensive lineman and player. and a report said that some players on the team thought another offensive lineman 48th garner got teased -- nate garner got teased worse than jonathan martin. in 2013 he told jim turner he was depressed and had suicidal thoughts. that led turners to talk to philbin, the dolphins head coach, they talked to jonathan martin's parents, sent him to a psychiatrist who put him on an antidepress apt. but between may of 2013 and october of 2013 whether jonathan martin left the team the coaches really didn't pay too close

attention to what was going on. >> one thing that jumped out to me in that 144 page report, he reached out to martin multiple times after this report came out, encouraging him to support incognito. telling him to come out and help his team mate out. even after he had questioned martin's character. what are your feelings how this would reflect on dolphins? >> i'm not sure jim turner is going to be able to keep his job after this. this is something that started with the players. it said the report said richie incognito was the ringleader and pouncey went along. however the buck has got to stop with the coaches. the report said jonathan martin never told anyone specifically that he was being harassed by these players because jonathan

martin thought he would be regarded as a snitch. but jim turner knew that jonathan martin had suicidal thoughts. joe philbin the head coach knew this. so to me i thought they should keep closer tabs on jonathan martin. this is not a torn ha hamstringr injured knee. this is somebody's life you're talking about. the culpability goes up to the head coach to some extent. most of it lies with the players and their immature reaction towards jonathan martin. >> this could shape the culture of professional i guess locker rooms and the culture just everywhere to see how they're going to handle it. >> especially as you hear incognito's response. we'll be listening for more. up next, making beautiful music, the first interview with concert

master since he reunited with a stolen multimillion dollar stradivarius. the rave at the box office, we'll meet the man who build the masterpiece one lego at a time.

>> well, it is the weekend and a lot of people had a very messy week. we are going to see a break but unfortunately we are going to be seeing another storm system making its way across the

central place o plains, ohio rir valley. it's going to get stronger once it moves off the coast. so it's really not going to be new york primarily affected. boston and maine. heavy winds and snow will take their toll there. a little bit of snow here on saturday, we're talking about one to two inches of snow. doesn't seem like a lot compared to what we have had. but as you can see here northeast to new england especially the coast, anywhere from 12 to possibly 14 inches of snow. that will exit as we go towards sunday. that is the forecast, boston really being affected on saturday, sunday getting a little bit better, a little more activity coming into play as we come into next week, that is the system that's making its way across the ohio river valley. right now, a lot of snow rain showers, a temperature of 23, that is your national weather,

your news is up next.

>> the lego movie is number 1 at the box office. 50 years after the building blocks were first invented they are still popular with children. taking the lego to a new level, three dimensional lego masterpieces, we're proud to have him here tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> how did you start this? >> i had lego bricks as a child. but when i grew up i was working with different types of media to create my artwork. and i thought, what about that toy for my child, could i create large scale art with lego bricks. >> but you were a corporate lawyer. you weren't just an artist

figuring out a new medium, bringing out your inner child. >> i was practicing law and come home at night, needing some kind of artistic outlet. sometimes i would paint, sometimes i would write, sometimes i would create with lego. >> why lego,. >> they've played with it, have it at home and really connect to the artwork. >> you've spent a time to bring these here, we really appreciate it. let's start with statute of liberty. how long did that take to create? >> it took about two weeks to make. it's so iconic, of course. i ended up building the head of the statute of liberty three times, i wanted to make sure it looked accurate. >> i haven't seen one with a heart? >> i wanted to put a twist on it. she's opening up her heart to the world.

>> how many different pieces are used for this? >> it depends on the size, each sculpture takes anywhere from 10 to 20,000. we'll say about 12,000 in a piece like this. >> they aren't 42ed are they? >> -- they aren't glued are they? >> they are glued. i want to make sure they arrive in one piece. >> what about nefertiti. >> taking pieces of history, and reproducing them in lego. i thought what if i took very famous works like nefertiti, all in scale, color and form to the originals. >> you do the same thing with the famous paintings of the world. "scream" and "starry night."

>> what i did with "scream" i took the picture and made it three dimensional. if you were to go to the side of the picture you could see the side of the figure. i did that with several different pieces in the art of the brick. i put a different twist using the lego bricks. >> if i go in the store can i buy these lego colors? >> i use the same lego bricks. these are the same ones that people get in stores so if someone was inspired to go home and build they can get the same blocks. >> does lego like what you're doing? >> we have a good relationship. i am a good customer. >> how many pieces in the exhibit? >> there are many differently pieces, the largest lego exhibit ever. >> how long is it there? >> we open today, february 14th and we'll be there for a while. >> do you always try to

replicate images, iconic images or do you do your own thing as well? >> i do my own thing, i do 50 pieces from art history and then i did 50 pieces that are complete original nathan sowaya. >> when you look at nefertiti in particular. it's the color, it's the eyes that come out, you know. >> it's the original piece, as close as possible to nefertiti. >> because it is three dimensional, you really get a quite different look. >> there is almost a pix pixi pixilization you know. you step back and it's made a form. >> this is a big family event, they must bring kids by the dozens.

>> that's the greatly thing about the combination. exhibition. i have families that have never been to a museum and they come to this one. >> is that your intent? >> that's my intent. i know i'm doing my job. >> how long does it take to build them? >> it depends on the sculpture. about two to three weeks on a lifestyle form. >> are they more complicated than the ones you brought to us? >> these are smaller ones. a lot of the pieces in the museum are bigger than this. >> what is the largest piece you have done? >> a tyrannosaurus rex that took me an entire summer to build. >> do you have a studio in -- >> i have a studio in new york and in languages and in los angeles. i split time and i create whenever i'm in the area.

>> this is inspiring work to many people. it's a real treat to have you on the program. thanks for sharing your art. >> thanks for having me. >> the from lego structures to the incredible story of a stolen stradivarius. now recovered and returned to the owner they week. frank oman was attacked and robbed. the 18th century vie minute valued at $5 million, was -- violin valued at $5 million was recovered last week. gentlemen welcome, stefan, great to have you back here. >> nice to see you john. >> frank let me ask you first.

tell us what happened when they stole this violin from you. >> we just finished a concert on a chamber music series i run actually here in milwaukee and i was leaving through the stage door and my car was not parked very far away. i walked out with a few other musicians that were on the concert and they sort of walked ahead of me a little bit. and i was putting some things in my trunk and there was a car parked backed in next omy car. and i was just about to strap the violin actually in the back seat of the car like i usually do and a guy walked around the front of the -- it was an older van and just got a little closer and a little closer and i saw a couple of lights and then i realized that that's what happens just before you get with it with a taser. >> you are holding onto it very carefully -- go ahead. >> no, i went down and got up very quickly. and saw a van driving off, and

no violin case. so it was pretty apparent to me what had happened to me right then. >> did you ever think you would see it again? >> yeah. i just wasn't sure exactly when. i mean -- i'm of course really thrilled that it didn't take very long. but you know, the part of me thought maybe it was going to be gone for a white, yes. >> but did you ever imagine -- for a while, yes. >> did you ever imagine that this vie lirn would be stolen -- violin would be stolen from you? >> no. they're certainly hardly ever stolen and in this particular fashion. i was much more worried about doing something stupid with it, like setting it on top of my car or something like a coffee mug and driving off. something fairly absent minded or leaving it in a cab or something like that, much more common. >> stefan you authenticated

this, and did you say you had trouble sleeping while it was gone? >> frank called right after the incident in a panic, and then i was in a panic and i couldn't sleep. i don't think any of us kind of slept very well anyway for nine days or whatever it was while the violin was gone. >> it's a beautiful instrument but why is it worth $5 million? >> well, it's a very rare and special thing. and there's a huge demand for these objects. and not enough to go around. and that has consistently driven the price up. i expect, talk to me in a few years and maybe that number will be quite a bit higher. >> i don't want to go into details of your security procedures but i would take it frank that you're taking -- you've taken precautions to keep this from happening again? >> well, i think anybody that's

playing an instrument like this, or in this echelon, is probably reassessing the way that they live with them, and myself included. i mean this was such an unusual thing on so many levels that you can't help but step back and really look at the whole picture. so you know -- of course i have to reexamine everything, as far as the way that i treat it day-to-day, and travel with it and things like that. i don't think i'm going to be alone, though. >> i have to ask you before you leave if you mind, if you wouldn't mind playing a little bit on that beautiful violin we sure would appreciate it. >> sure. sure. see what it counts like. [ violin playing ] ♪

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are tonight's top stories. volkswagen workers reject a plan to unionize at a plant in tennessee. the vote against the union was

712 to 626. president obama got a firsthand look at california's dry conditions today. he spent time meeting with farmers devastated by the drought. the administration offered more than $160 million in aid. a volcanic eruption in indonesia has killed three people on the country's most populated island. mouth galud forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate. eruptions could be heard 80 miles away. italy's president is holding elections, to determine who will be the next. if chosen mateo renzi will be italy's youngest prime minister in history. a green light from the obama administration allowing banks to do business with the legal marijuana industry.

banks have been refusing, the sale is still illegal under federal law. those are the headlines, "america tonight" with joie chen is up next. you could get the latest at aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight": did he have to stand his ground? the florida gunman accused of killing an unarmed teenager awaits a jury's decision. also tonight. he plowed into the back of me which pushed me right into the bmw. >> on the day after. the dig-out begins as does the wait for another round of winter. and on this valentine's day, expert advice for the online dating game. beginning with